Hanging with the guys

I spent a lot of time the past few days hanging with the guys.  Lori had a conference in  Tampa (yes, she got to spend an evening with Lisa) from Wednesday to Saturday night.  So I got to be with Austin more than normal, picking him up from daycare, eating dinner with him and Anthony, either at our house or theirs.  He just gets to be more fun every day.  One time he said, "I need your phone, Grandma."   I asked, "What do you want to do with my phone?"  "Angry birds," was his answer.  As most of you know, that's a very popular game app for smart phones. I, however, have never gotten into it, so I don't have it on my phone.  However, later he was playing it on Anthony's phone.  It is just too funny how he knows how to turn a phone (or iPad) on, find the app he wants, and play games without any help.     

But don't worry, he still likes to do lots of other things.  Like carousing with his daddy,

playing with the blocks Jeremy gave him for Christmas -actually these are his favorite toy,

playing with the unique chess game that was a souvenir Jeremy brought home from Zambia for Anthony many years ago, 

and just being nixy and cute!

On Saturday the male population increased even more with the arrival of Jeremy and his friend Mike from DC.  Jeremy's 32nd birthday is coming up this week, and he said you know you're getting old when your favorite place to go for your birthday is home to your parents.  Awwwww.  That's so sweet!

So some of the guys kept busy like this......

but Jeremy and I were in the kitchen making the birthday meal he had planned - sausage and creamed potatoes (with soy sausage) and chocolate chip zucchini cake.  Yum and yum!  

Oh, I almost forgot!  I was not the only girl in the house.  Sweet Molly had come along.  Bless her heart.  She was born in Florida, has adjusted to a mild winter in DC, then came here for our coldest weather of the entire winter.  She was traumatized when they took her outside to go pee.   Here she is in the fashionable coat that Jeremy made for her, cuddling her favorite stuffed elephant. 

Lori arrived at the State College airport around 10 last night.  Imagine coming from Tampa to the cold, snowy, windy blasts that we were having last night!  Dick picked her up and took her home to her boys. 

After church(es) this morning we all ate lunch together.  Jeremy made delicious baked tilapia.

Mike's not in this picture because he was probably in the kitchen cleaning up.  How I love hanging with a bunch of guys that don't expect me to do all the work!   Notice how all the pictures I take are either at the table or here in the living room?  That's pretty much what we do in the winter when the kids come home.  We eat and then we crash.  

This was such a fun weekend, but there were a few downers.  We will always remember this as the weekend that Whitney Houston died.   What a VOICE!!!!  What a sad, sad loss.  

And another downer was that I injured my shoulder on Friday.  I have had issues with my right shoulder for at least ten years, have had coritzone shots several times, have been taking Valtarin for at least 8 years for my shoulder as well as my lower back.  I've been noticing that it's been getting more painful again, especially at night, for the past six months or so.  As I worked out with the exercise video the past several weeks, I tried to be careful how much I expected of that shoulder.  

On Friday afternoon as I shopped for groceries I was thinking how good I am feeling since eating carefully on the Weight Watchers plan and getting regular exercise.  I felt stronger and  more energetic and happy about that, looking forward to the weekend.  And THEN.  I carried the groceries into the house, several plastic bags of them in each hand, and lifted them up to the counter.  And I heard and felt something tear.  So my weekend has consisted, in addition to all the fun, of keeping my arm down and close to my body, ice, heat, ibuprofen, and Icyhot.  I hate to say something so vain, but my main concern was how would I do my hair?  But I've managed to do it by lifting my arm with the help of my other hand.  I even played piano at church this morning, keeping my arm against my body.  

Yes, I know I need to go to a doctor, and I will do that this week.  I just mostly feel angry about it.  I don't feel like I can afford the time or the money right now to have anything wrong.  Maybe it was that, or maybe I was tired of being good, but I ate terrible these two days.  

Tomorrow is a new day, praise God.